“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mather 11:29, RSV)
At a recent Apologetics meeting at my church the guy running the evening mentioned this verse in a new light that I had never seen before. Before this I had always taken it just as a sort of “bear your cross and you will learn how to be holy.” However he pointed out a view on it that gave me a kind of “duh!” moment.
When you look at a yoke and a pair of oxen, the purpose of the yoke is twofold. Firstly it is to allow both oxen to share the load and pull equally. And secondly it is to keep them both going in the same direction.
When Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you”, he isn’t trying to give us another cross. He is telling us to stop trying to pull our cross by ourselves and let him help us. He is also asking us to join him in his yoke and align ourselves to his will. Really when you look at this way it put a much more pleasant and comforting light upon Christ’s words. Instead of a message to take up our burden, it is a request to allow Christ to take our burden and walk with us.
Allow Christ to share your burden and walk with you 🙂
~Anthony G.
